Touchstyle Territory

undreds of years ago, guitars evolved as one of the more generally-useful stringed instruments — more portable than a concert harp, easier to tune than a piano.

Popular music then wandered through the classical period and into the 20^th century and in the war years the dance-band grew into the big-band, riding the popularity of that newly popular idiom called “Jazz”.

During the hardships of these years, popular entertainment focused primarily on propaganda movies and on movies showing elegant life. These movies tended to feature big-band music.

But as the US economy returned to normal, economics and popular taste began to downsize the bands. In the ‘50s, television began competing with live entertainment and with the movies, and during this same time, Mr. Les Paul’s new electric amplifier for guitar was coming into greater use among combos. The rise of “rhythm & blues”, and its adoption by the mainstream white community as “rock & roll” was accelerated as radio abandoned drama as a lost cause and began to focus on musical programs.

And the result?

A singer, plus what was originally the “rhythm section” of the big band — bass, guitar (now amplified), & drums — became the whole band. The economics were right, the popular taste was right, and the radio desperately needed material. Big-bands disappeared; Elvis and then the Stones took over.

Electric guitar design adapted to amplification, dropping the (now unneeded) resonant sound-box, and acoustic basses adapted in the same way. Since a guitar-player could often sing while playing, the bands got very compact.

So in a way, as we will see, Touch-Style music evolved from the small combo, and in particular, the electric guitar of the rock band!

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